Final Goodbye
by DefinateStorm
Summary: After 120 years, Robert is finally reunited with his sister. But an oncoming war threatens to destroy the sanctuary that they have. Even though he is sure they have everything they need to survive it, after a horrific event, Robert fears he may lose his sister once more, and this time, for good. Kind of AU, but not really. Originally a one-shot.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"_It's hard being left alone."_

Robert peered through the window to Booker's office. The window was foggy and dusty, but he could see Booker and Elizabeth -well, Anna- standing near the desk. His heart leaped with joy and he turned to Rosalind, there was a large smile on his face and though she tried to look annoyed, he could see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"We did it." he said, "We finally did it."

"Was it us?" Rosalind turned away from him, "Or was it Booker?"

"It isn't important." Robert sighed, "They are together now." He took her hand, briefly noting how cold she was, and started for his house, "It will be different…"

"What will?" she asked.

"You staying with me. I don't have any of the luxuries you had." he ran his thumb over her hand thoughtfully, "Nor do I have the funding to continue any serious research."

"Robert, my world is gone." she said. He paused momentarily, turning his gaze to her.

"Excuse me?" he tilted his head slightly, "What do you mean?" She didn't answer, but he was able to put it together on his own. After Booker's drowning, Comstock had been wiped out. And in the process, Rosalind's world had been wiped away as well. It didn't mean anything, after all, she was still with him. But he would admit, he'd been worrying about it since they returned to a completely live state. "I'm sure it isn't a problem." He tried to offer a smile, but when he saw the blood dripping from her ears, he panicked.

He should have known that she would hemorrhage, he'd done so when he arrived in her world. It would be the same for her.

"I think-"

"Don't think." he interrupted, "Let's just get home." He mentally cursed the fact that he lived so far away. How long could she walk before she completely shut down as he had?

"But I don't live here… This isn't where I-" she stopped and tightened her grip on his hand, "let's go…" He nodded and started walking again. He tried to remember a shortcut to his own house, but he came up blank.

"We're almost there." They had another 20 minutes of walking at the most, but judging by her pained murmurs, they didn't have much time before she shut down.

He nervously chewed his lip and tried to speed up. She was getting cold and the bleeding had increased. "Just hold on." he told her anxiously. She didn't respond, and he didn't look at her, "Maybe we should go to a hospital?"

"No." she said, "It will pass."

"But you're bleeding." he reminded, "A lot."

"No."

He sighed and continued on, he could see the house now. He scooped her into his arms and rushed there, "We're here." he set her down on his couch and rushed to get a towel.

"Robert?" she called.

"I'm coming." he replied. He returned with the towel and placed it around her neck to catch the blood from her ears, "How do you feel?"

"Fine… It's only a little blood." she sighed, "And a massive headache."

"When I bled, what did you do?" he asked.

"Nothing. I put you to bed and it stopped on it's own." she replied. He nodded and picked her up again. She went limp in his arms and he panicked.

"Rosalind?" he shook her slightly, "Rosalind?" He rushed up to his room and layed her down on the bed. The bleeding in her ears had stopped, but her nose had started to bleed. "I'm getting a doctor." he said. He rushed out of the house again and panicked, where was the nearest hospital again?

"Robert!" he heard her scream. He turned back quickly and entered the house. Her screams hadn't stopped and when he entered the room, she was curled up on the floor.

"What is it?" he asked, "What's happening."

"It doesn't want me here… This isn't the same… Your world doesn't want me here." she strained.

"What?" he was confused.

"My world vanished, I should have as well." she swallowed, "And I think I'm going to…"

"No, it will pass!" he got down on his knees, "You said so yourself!"

"I did but… I was wrong." it was hard hearing her say that. Both of them had rarely admitted to being wrong, especially when arguing with each other. Usually he would rejoice, but considering the situation, it only scared him.

"You would have vanished when the Elizabeth's did." He lifted her up and back onto the bed and held her on his lap. She was still bleeding and the blood began to pool in his lap.

"I suppose the universe just wanted to give me a little time." she started shaking, "I'm trying to prolong it Robert but… It hurts too much."

"You can't give up, Rosalind. Stay here, I'll find someway to reverse it." he said, "I just need time..."

"Robert, there are other Rosalind's. Rebuild the machine and find another." she breathed.

"No." he held her close, "None of them are you. They share your face and name but, it's you I need."

"I… I don't want to leave." she whispered.

"And I want you to stay." he absently ran his fingers through her hair. Rosalind had fallen quiet, her erratic breathing was the only sign that she was still there. "Don't leave me." he remembered how he'd threatened to leave her before. The act seemed selfish now, she stayed by his side and helped him clear his heart and now that they were done, she was disappearing.

"Goodbye, _brother_." she whispered. He didn't reply, she disappeared before he could. His hands fell limp against his lap and he stared down at the spot she'd very recently occupied. The only thing that even proved she was real was the blood she'd left behind. But in time, even that began to disappear. She was gone… She was really gone… And he hadn't even said goodbye…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

**October 21, 2013**

Robert sat in front of the fire place and sighed. He needed to relax but while he was comfortable here he couldn't relax. There was something missing. He'd paid the best workers to build this home 70 years ago and it was perfect. There was a lab, there was a library, 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a very nice living room. It was large and empty but he couldn't but think about how much Rosalind would have loved it.

120 years had passed since she was taken from him, with all that time, he should have been able to forget her. After all, the world did. But he couldn't… He just couldn't get over the fact that he hadn't said goodbye. He had held her in his arms, listened to the fear in her voice and when she'd said goodbye, he hadn't responded to her. Why had he waited so long? Why had he-

"Stop it." he told himself as he stood up. He couldn't sit and mope around for too long. He had work to do, with the winter coming soon, he wanted as much firewood as he could get before it snowed. Winters here were horrible and he didn't want to be caught unprepared like the last year. He shuddered and wondered if he would have survived if not for his immortality.

He put out the fire in the fireplace and grabbed his ax. A smile formed on his face when he wondered what Rosalind would think of his new lifestyle. He lived in a cabin in the middle of the wilderness. Sure, he trekked to town when he needed more Froot Loops, but for the most part, he was alone. Which was good, because every 20 or so years, when he went to town, he could always say he was new in town and no one would question his longevity.

He looked towards the pile of firewood, he was pretty well off, but what was a little more? He still had a pile of wood that needed to be chopped and after that, he would search for dead trees in the forest. He found his stump, set up a block of wood and smashed it into two separate logs. He allowed himself to be lulled into his usual exercise. When he was in the zone, anything could sneak up on him. It was a bad characteristic and had ended horribly for him once or twice. After 10 minutes of constant chopping, scream, broke his concentration. A familiar scream at that. He paused momentarily and tried to figure out where it had come from.

He dropped the ax and ran straight back into his home to retrieve a gun. Screams in the forest were never a good thing. The person screamed again and he ran into the forest. This person sounded too familiar. He would admit that he hadn't heard her scream too often, but even if it wasn't who he thought it was, he had to at least help her right? "Hello?!" he called, "Where are you?!"

"Near the river!" came the urgent response. His heart raced as he hurried to the river and spotted the victim. She was on the ground, crawling away from a bear. It was relatively small compared to the other ones he'd seen and he found himself hesitating to shoot it.

The bear roared and moved closer to the girl. He realized that she was already hurt and that he needed to act soon. He fired the shotgun and killed the bear instantly. He would have to get rid of the body later or it would attract other predators with its sent. "Are you okay?" he walked over to the woman and bent down next to her. He couldn't see her face, it was obscured by a hood.

"Robert." she breathed.

"What?" He lifted her hood and gasped, "Rosalind?" he questioned.

"Who else?" she smiled weakly, It was clear that she probably hadn't eaten in days. How long had she been wandering in the forest?

"Rosalind." he repeated, "You… died…"

"He scratched me, but it isn't deep enough to kill me." she gestured to the wound, "I don't think I'll be needing a hospital."

"No… You died. I watched you disappear, I watched you bleed out. You _died_." his vice rose unintentionally and he forced himself to calm down. This was Rosalind, _his _Rosalind. But how had she returned to him?

"I did, and it was painful." she nodded, "But it's been a few days and the universe does have its bursts of kindness." A few days?

"How did you… When did you return?"

"I'd say about 6 days ago?" she said thoughtfully, "I just appeared here wearing this outfit. I've been wandering out here for a while. Trying to find a town. I was going to start looking for you…"

"How did you know I was still alive?" he questioned.

"Well, I imagine it's only been a few days." she coughed, "Why wouldn't you still be alive?"

"Rosalind… No… It's been 120 years." he said. He watched her face, she looked confused, and maybe that was too much for her. Her nose started to bleed and with a groan, she promptly passed out. A small smile tugged at his lips and he scooped her up. She was back… They had a lot to discuss, but that didn't matter, because he had her back and no one was going to take her away again.

0.o..0.o.0

Oh no… new fanfic ideas in my head. Blegh, I'm going to write it now… It'll be a sequel to this story here.


End file.
